


Sketchbook

by okaeri



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Gen, Slice of Life, harugou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-01
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-25 06:26:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/949747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okaeri/pseuds/okaeri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru tries to figure out his feelings.  A "slice of life" fan fiction told in short moments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One.

                “Is that-.  Is that Gou?” 

            Haruka looked up from his sketchbook.  When had Nagisa even snuck in?  “It’s Kou not Gou, Nagisa.”  Haruka considered himself very good at reading people.  He didn’t know the back story as to why Kou preferred being called Kou, but it certainly bothered her a lot more than she let on.  He often wondered if maybe her father called her Gou and if the name stung after his death.  He didn’t remember if she had cared before that happened but, her reactions to being called “Gou” or “Gou-kun” seemed to be covering something that wasn’t only irritation.    

            “That is not even the point.”  Haruka went back to shading her clavicle.  “Why are you drawing _Kou_?”

            Lately, he had also noticed that her muscle crushes were different from the crush she had on him.  To be honest he had some sort of feeling for her too.  One time she had asked him why he swam and somehow his feelings towards her changed.  It wasn’t like everyone else, only asking if he was okay or telling him not to get into the water.  So, he found himself drawing her when Nagisa came in.  “I don’t have a reason why.” 

            He could feel Nagisa positively vibrating with barely contained glee.  In a few minutes everyone would know that Nagisa had caught him drawing Kou.  “It isn’t like that, Nagisa.” 

            “Too late!  Mass text-” Nagisa was typing on his phone.

            “Don’t.”  It wasn’t often that Haruka put so much force behind his words and he kind of regretted it. 

            “I’m just teasing, Haru.”  He looked over at Nagisa who didn’t seem fazed.  “So, is she like your new waterfall?” 

            “No.”  Haruka was sure of that.  It wasn’t an all consuming need to in Kou.  _With_ _Kou¸_ he thought, _What am I some sort of pervert?_   He was very sure of water, but not very sure of how he felt about her. 

            _Pin-Pon_.  “It’s us.”  The usual chorus from the entryway; Makoto, Rei, and Kou.  Suddenly, Haruka felt a little panicked.  The teasing blond boy jumped up trotting off to the entry way.

            “Guys!  Let’s go to the store.  If we don’t we’ll only have mackerel to eat. Oh! You've already got snacks.”  Haru, realizing that Nagisa had sensed the panicky feeling he felt and was attempting to stall everyone, took the chance to shut the sketch book and sneak it off to his room, tucking it under his mattress.  Taking a second he looked at his bed deciding that it seemed like he was hiding something dirty. _Ah, why am I hiding it in the first place_ , he thought, _if it isn’t a crush?_  

            When he came back to the living room everyone was already sitting.  Rei on one side of the table, Mako at the foot of the table, Nagisa at the head, Kou across from Rei, and the last cushion next to her. He knew Nagisa had something to do with it.  Oddly, he didn’t feel irritated as he sat next to her, catching Nagisa’s giant grin out of the corner of his eye.

            “So,” Nagisa started, “Let the Iwatobi-Swim-Club-Winter-Training-Meeting begin!”

            “Nagisa,” Rei started, “You aren’t even the captain!”  Haru wasn’t exactly sure about his feelings, and he certainly didn’t feel comfortable talking about them, but he was sure about the swim club.


	2. Two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mackerel recipes.

            Haruka was swimming laps, which always gave him time to think.  In their relationship Makoto was the mother while he was the son.  Makoto always fussed over him slowly drawing him out of his shell.  Lately though, he noticed he seemed to have another mother.  Earlier, Kou had made a point of having another meeting at his house.  Come to think of it, there hadn’t even been any point to the meeting.  They all just descended en masse to hang out.  It wasn’t that he even really minded.  It was nice, and he thought, something that he needed.  It had been so long with just Makoto to check up on him that while the addition of everyone else was jarring, it wasn’t all unwelcome.  So, it came to pass that they had Wednesday meetings at his house.

             He came up at the end of his laps and noticed Kou crouched next to his lane. 

“Ha-ruka.” She smiled, purposely keeping her eyes on his face.  He appreciated the effort.  “I’ll be at your house a little earlier than usual.  I have something I need to run passed you-”   He was probably looking at her a little too intensely because she paused slightly before adding “For the club!” and she laughed before heading off to time the others.  He made a point of softening his gaze while he watched the water reflect up on her track pants as she walked away.

\---

Somehow, the drawing he had started before had gotten finished.  He starred at it from the bathtub, studying it through the plastic bag he had it in.  The drawing of Kou had ended up with her being seated next to the ocean.  Odd.  Later, he would add the water reflecting up onto her dress.  Over the season he had gotten used to the little things in her appearance.  The dreamy look on her face at meets.  The slight hurt in her eyes when her brother was gruff.  In the drawing it was her dreamy look, red ponytail whipped to the side with the part of her hair too short to fit into the ponytail blown against her face.  Her clothes were romantic and he wondered if she even owned those types of clothes.  He laughed thinking that she was dressed a little like Amakata Sensei.  They would be good for covering up a swimsuit, a two piece definitely and easy to get out of.  “ _And into the water!_ ”  It was just for convenience sake.  He took a deep breath and submerged himself in the bath. 

When he came up he could hear someone downstairs.  “ _Kou?_ ” probably.  When the crashes started, he began to worry.  Resigning himself to an interrupted bath he climbed out, toweling off and slipping on a hoodie and pants over his suit. 

“Kou?” He looked around the corner.  “Water you doing?*” The corners of his mouth twitched up at his own pun.  She blushed, picking up the stack of papers she had dropped.  He noticed the bag of groceries on the counter.  “For the meeting?”

“Hmn?” she looked up at him. 

“That.”  He didn’t mean to sound curt, he wondered if he sounded cross.

“Oh. I. Well.  Yeah.”  He didn’t think that her tongue tied-ness came from his tone.  “Actually, sort of.  Not.”  
            “Oh.  Okay.”  He stooped to help her pick up the papers.  Looking at them, they were all mackerel recipes.  Mackerel curry, mackerel pasta, mackerel cream stew, and mackerel miso, did she always take notes with drawings?  There was even a section for side dishes that complimented mackerel.  There was a surprising lack of pineapple. 

“AHAHA” she grabbed the papers laughing entirely too loudly, “I’ve got it don’t worry!” 

“Okay.”  His short sentences came from being on his own for most of the time.  From the time he left club activities until Makoto came to pick him up for school he had no reason to talk. “Are-“ the words stuck in his throat, “Are you making food?” _Stupid question._

“I, everyone really, was worried about you only eating mackerel and pineapple.”  She put the papers on his table.  “Makoto was worried the most, I guess.” 

“Oh.” He paused, “He worries a lot.” 

“We all worry, you know.  I mean, Makoto can read you really well.  I think Nagisa does too.  Me, though.”  Kou got up and headed into the kitchen, “Do you have an apron?  Well, I don’t know you as well as the others, and you don’t tell me anything so I don’t know how to help you.  So, I decided to make you some food.”  Haru grabbed one of the aprons and handed it to her. “You shouldn’t have to be alone all of the time.”

“Do you know how to cook?”

“A little.  That’s why I took such great notes.”  Kou has a really nice smile.  Haru wondered if she had had her first kiss.  Rin seemed like the angry older brother type.  He pitied whoever she brought home. 

“I’ll help.”

“Okay!”  She had that sing song voice that he usually found annoying.  He was preoccupied with thoughts of how Rin would overreact to anyone dating Kou even though he liked to pretend that he didn’t care about things. 

Haru’s kitchen was large, but they found themselves competing for sink space.  He thought at first that he would be irritated.  He often found himself irritated unless it was about swimming, but softly bumping into her was okay.  Her cardigan was soft and warm.   “You know, I can take care of myself.”

“I know.  Sometimes it’s nice not to have to, though, right?”


	3. Yukata

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Does she know?"

     Haru found himself staring at his ceiling. The alert light from his phone was slowly blinking, lighting up the ceiling a bit before slowly fading away. A few minutes ago he had started a conversation with Makoto and now he was in bed regretting it. He pulled the comforter up above his face but couldn’t fall asleep knowing that there was a reply on his phone.  
   

      “What do you think of Kou?” Haru had typed from the bathtub.

  
     “Her training regimen is great.  
      Rei is getting better.  
      Nagisa is improving his time leaps and bounds.  
      You seem happier now that you’re able to swim.” Makoto’s reply came almost instantly. 

     “No. I mean do you think she’s nice?” At that point he panicked and climbed out of the tub to go hide in his room. He fipped over onto his stomach and stretched out of bed blindly groping for his phone and finding it climbed back into bed. Taking a deep breath he opened the phone.

     “What?” There was another message, “Are you naked? I’m not having this conversation with you if you’re naked.” And another, “I’ll be over after Ren and Ran finish their homework.”

 _Oh, now I’ve done it._ Haru could hear Makoto’s panicked tone as he read the text messages. He curled up in a ball just as the doorbell rang. Haru didn’t move, knowing that Makoto would just break in the back in a few moments. When the light flipped on, he pulled the covers down.

     It wasn’t that Haru hadn’t had a crush on anyone before. In elementary school he would give kisses after school and in middle school before he had quit swimming, some girls had made him lunch to eat. After he had quit swimming he had become a bit withdrawn and then it was mostly just Makoto and himself. Nowadays he had a cache of slightly and overtly naughty gravure books in the back of his closet. He didn’t know why they were hidden since he was on his own, but still. 

He found himself looking up at Makoto. “So,” Makoto started, “Gou, huh?”  
     “She came over and made me mackerel. After she left I could only think of her cooking with just an apron on.”

  
     “Rin would kill you.” Mako laughed, “Do you have food? I’m starving.”

  
     “Yeah, Kou cooked a couple weeks worth of food. I don’t know how she thought I was going to eat it all.” They started walking downstairs. “Especially since Nagisa cancelled the meeting at the last minute.” He started warming stuff up on the stove. Haru knew that it wasn’t a coincidence. He and Kou had spent most of the time cooking and then putting it away so Haru could just grab his meals. Nagisa had made sure that they were alone for most of the night.

     “Is it still all mackerel dishes?” When he turned around, it was too late. Makoto had started to flip through the sketchbook. “Rin is going to kill you.” It had started off innocently enough. A drawing here and a sketch there, Kou on the beach, Kou by the pool, Kou in the pool, Kou in her yukata, Kou halfway out of her yukata. Makoto laughed, “The police could use this in a murder trial you psycho. Didn’t know you had a yukata fetish, though Haru.”

  
     “Please don’t.” Haru set down a weird Mackerel pasta type dish in front of Makoto. “Do you-“ Haru took a deep breath, “Do you think she knows?” He had often caught himself staring at her.

  
     “What? That you drew her laying down with her yukata pulled up and pulled open?” Makoto laughed, “No, she’s so wrapped up in her own crush that she probably hasn’t noticed that you have one too.” He explained in between bites that even though Nagisa had a big mouth so Rei probably knew already and even though Haru was obvious sometimes too, that Kou hadn’t seemed to think her own feelings were reciprocated. “Besides, don’t you think it makes more sense for the captain and the manager to get together?” Makoto finished good naturedly, smiling at his friend’s discomfort at the thought.

     “Are you staying over?”

     “Yeah, I told my mom and she seemed pretty amused and kinda happy that you were having girl troubles. So, she doesn’t expect me home.”

     “How do I talk to Kou?”  It was time to talk strategy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOP! at me for taking so long to update. We have a pretty big garden and it's the end of the season. So, with everything coming in I've been super busy harvesting and preserving food. Also, I have no idea what is wrong with this formatting. So, I'm sorry for the odd double spacedness of it.


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